Feather
by Sara Winters
Summary: There was more than a little bravery required in sharing this little bit of truth with his family, Albus discovered. He found comfort in an unexpected place. Rated for salty language.


_Author's note: This was written for the Hogwarts Online prompt of the day, "feathers."_

* * *

There'd been no big announcement to Dad. They'd talked quietly. Brief and to the point. Harry had accepted his son's orientation as naturally as he'd taken to news of Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron expecting their sixth child just as Rosie began her fifth year or Uncle George and Aunt Angie getting a divorce. It was all just a part of life.

"How do you think Mum'll react?" Albus asked. They were walking in the square in the center of Godric's Hollow. Harry had come to visit his parents' graves and Albus had come to escape the screaming inside his head. A little solace before returning to the problem at hand. Albus knew it was no coincidence that he'd run into his father as he was leaving the cemetary. With the stress he'd been under at work, Harry had needed the same type of escape. They had found each other.

"I think she will love you, no matter what," Harry said after a pause.

Albus stared at his father for a long moment, into the eyes that were identical to his. His mouth pulled down. "Dad, that's a load of rubbish and you know it. She had kittens when Aunt Fleur had that fling with what's-her-name—"

"She was cheating on your Uncle Bill," Harry put in.

"It wasn't the cheating and you know it," Albus said. "She never stopped hating Aunt Fleur after that, even after Uncle Bill forgave her." His short laugh then was mocking. "I heard her tell Lily that if she ever became a taco-munching slut, she'd never forgive her." Lily had barely spoken to her favorite aunt since.

Harry went pale. "Your mother said nothing of the sort."

Albus wanted to laugh at his father's naiveté. There was a side to the woman he'd married Harry had rarely seen, if Aunt Hermione's stories were true. Of course he wanted to believe Ginny wouldn't hate her own son if he showed himself to be something she didn't approve of, but he also wanted to believe love could defeat any form of evil. That kind of pure-hearted sentiment might have worked when his father was seventeen, but this was a different time.

"Even if she did," Harry began, sounding less sure than he had before, "It was probably just in the heat of the moment. She might feel...strongly, but she loves you kids."

"I'd like to think there are no limits to the love a mother feels for her son, but that's not always the case," Albus said quietly. Scorpius had experienced that firsthand when he told his mother about the two of them. It was all Draco Malfoy could do to keep her from putting their only child out on the street. As it was, he'd spent most of the summer break bouncing from one relative to another, only coming home when his mother was out, waiting for the day his father would write and say Astoria had finally accepted what she couldn't change.

"What happened with Scorpius will not happen to you," Harry said.

"I know you won't let her put me out, but that doesn't mean she won't still hate me." He glanced up at the statue in the center of the square. For the briefest moment, he saw the statue of his grandparents and father, his grandmother's smile for his father as powerful set in stone as the scar Harry still bore. Albus blinked and the statue changed back into a soldier. "I love Mum, but when I tell her, I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"You won't side with her if...if the worst happens," Albus said quietly. He looked down at his shoes. "I know you don't think it's going to happen, but if she tries to separate me from the rest of the family..."

"I won't hear of it and neither will anyone else," Harry said firmly. "I still don't believe—"

"I know you don't," Albus interrupted. "Still, it's nice to know where you stand." Albus turned to face his father again. The older Potter was staring off into the distance, in the direction of the overcrowded graveyard where his parents' remains lay. Albus thought of going to visit with his grandparents for a bit, get a little more perspective before returning home to face his mother. He'd promised Scorpius he would do it before they started back at school and there was only another week left in the break.

There was a soft pop and a long grey and brown feather appeared in mid-air just in front of Albus's face. It floated there for a second before drifting down to his outstretched hand. His resulting smile was wistful.

"What does it mean?" Harry asked, nodding in the direction of the feather. "Does he want you to visit? Send an owl?"

"Nothing," Albus responded. "Just that he loves me. He's thinking about me." Albus smiled again and slipped the feather into the pocket of his robes. "I'll send an owl later."

Harry put his hands in the pocket of his robes and began walking towards the woods at the end of the village; it would be safe to Apparate there. "When are you going to tell your mother?"

"Tomorrow," Albus replied. "When you take Lily school shopping. I'd rather avoid the media circus. I'll get my books later."

Harry nodded. "I'll see you back at the house, son." Harry walked away, Apparating as he reached the deserted edge of the village. Albus had watched his father's progress and then turned to go to the cemetary. He conjured a wreath of roses on the way. James and Lily might've liked that.


End file.
